Love for a Warrior
by Blackwolf-20
Summary: Negan has found that he's come to appreciate Michonne enough to develop a crush on her, but he can see even after seven years, she can't let go of Rick. He wonders if acting on his feelings will help her move on. (Don't like, don't read)


**Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead**

**I bumped up the show's six year time jump to seven. Rick is still presumed to be dead.**

* * *

"Did I ever tell you you're one hell of a woman?"

Michonne looked back at him from the other side of the bars, unimpressed.

"It's just a sandwich," she said simply.

Negan chuckled lightly and looked down at the plate in his hand. In the beginning it had been a simple sandwich, but after seven years of Michonne being his main provider, it had become more than that. He looked at her, letting his eyes fall into her deep brown ones which were just as dark as his own. A few of her dreads fell over them and she brushed them aside.

"I think it's much more than that," he said quietly.

It felt like it now the longer he looked at her smooth, ebony skin which was marred by a few scars here and there. Another man might have viewed them as ugly, but to him they were beautiful. They were what made her, just like the scar on his back.

"Trying to get your bat back?" she guessed.

Negan shook his head. He was over that. Lucille, the real Lucille was gone, and in her place was this warrior with a perfect stance. She commanded attention, and just her look alone told anyone that she took no one's shit.

"I'm over that sweetheart."

Michonne frowned at the sudden nickname, but chose not to comment about it.

"Good." She turned on her heel, ready to leave.

Negan felt a sudden twist in his heart and jumped to his feet.

"Wait!"

She stopped and turned to him. Negan set the sandwich on his cot and slowly walked up to the bars. He knew the feeling that was coursing through him, and of course he had to explore it. But then, like a pain in the ass, Rick Grimes came to his mind. She had been Rick's afterall. She belonged to someone else, but that had never stopped him in the past. If he wanted someone, he took them. But in this case there was no need to worry because Rick had been dead for seven years.

"What?" she prodded when he said nothing. "I don't have all day."

Negan took a moment to think about how to approach her. As he zoned in on the hardness of her eyes, he had it.

"I just, wanted to thank you. Really thank you for what you've done for me." He glanced up at the window. "The people out there. They wouldn't have hesitated to kill me, or let me starve. I'd be dead if it wasn't for you."

"It's what Rick, wanted."

He heard the wavering of her voice and saw the eyes harden more.

"What about you? Did you ever believe in what Rick decided for me?"

She practically stormed over to the bars.

"What the hell does it matter what I believe? He's gone."

Negan felt the twist in his heart again, this time it was sorrowful. It was clear she was still hurting, but it wasn't as strong as it had been years ago.

"But you're still holding onto him," he said gently. Her shoulders tensed up. "I get it. He was to you what my Lucille was to me. But, you don't have to keep doing this."

"I do. It's what he wanted," she said through gritted teeth. "Alexandria has to keep going. Our laws have to hold up. We can't lose ourselves." Negan saw her eyes moistening up. "I can't…lose myself."

"You will," Negan countered in a low voice, catching her attention full on. "You will lose yourself if you don't let go."

"Why the hell do you care?" she spat.

The small smile he gave her was one of sadness.

"Because you're a warrior Michonne, and I don't want to see someone as strong and beautiful as you lose their damn mind. You have to keep this place strong, but you're doing it by holding the past by the balls and dragging it with you. When you do that, you're no different than the dead."

Negan barely realized how close he had pressed himself against the bars. Michonne hadn't seemed to realize that she had leaned in just as close. Her eyes showed the pain and feeling of loss, but Negan could tell she wanted to believe him.

"I'm not, a warrior," she said slowly. "I can't be, anymore."

"Yes you can. You are," he whispered.

A single tear slipped down her cheek, and Negan desired nothing more than to wipe it away. He wondered just how long she had been holding it in.

"I feel dead."

Negan felt a final twist in his heart before he slipped his hand through the bars and lifted her chin. A second later, his lips had softly pressed against hers.

He felt her tense up, and there was a small spark of fire in her eyes before they closed. She wasn't moving in as he deepened the kiss, but she wasn't pulling away. Instead her hand rose and touched his cheek. It was just the feeling Negan needed to add to the explosion in his chest. This little crush, as he thought it was at first, was no little crush at all. This was love.

Michonne broke the kiss and stepped back with her head down. Negan observed her quietly. He would expect her to slap him now, but she didn't do that. Instead more tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Can't," she muttered with a shake of her head as she kept backing away from the bars, "can't do this."

"We're not doing anything darling," he assured her.

"Rick," she said sadly.

"Rick is gone. He'd want you to move on Michonne, for yourself."

She disagreed, shaking her head slowly and narrowing her eyes at him.

"No."

She'd said it boldly enough, yet Negan detected some uncertainty.

"Don't lie to yourself Michonne. You and I have seen a lot of each other, and shared all kinds of shit together with our talks. What you're feeling now, is nothing to be ashamed of."

Her expression of anger said otherwise. She stared back at Negan as if it was the first time she was seeing him. Afterwards she turned on her heel and left the room.

Negan dropped his head against the bars. His heart wouldn't stop thumping.

"Damn it," he muttered.

He wasn't sure how he'd go on behind bars, pining for her. He could definitely see himself losing it if she never came back down to see him. But then he smiled as he thought about the kiss and the fact that she hadn't pulled away. He knew deep down that she was now tempted to move on, with him. He had reignited something inside her that had blown out years ago, so it was a matter of time before she returned to him.

He grinned as he stared at the door.

"I love you too Michonne."

**A quick idea that just came to my mind. The idea of Negan falling for Michonne in all those years of her coming to see him in his cell intrigued me.**


End file.
